| 1 | Rocky Mount, NC Metro Area | Above average opportunities | 4.32 | 
| 2 | Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC Metro Area | Above average opportunities | 3.16 | 
| 3 | Central North Carolina Balance of State | Above average opportunities | 2.45 | 
| 4 | Jacksonville, NC Metro Area | Above average opportunities | 1.96 | 
| 5 | Fayetteville, NC Metro Area | Above average opportunities | 1.91 | 
| 6 | Asheville, NC Metro Area | Above average opportunities | 1.87 | 
| 7 | Goldsboro, NC Metro Area | Above average opportunities | 1.85 | 
| 8 | Western North Carolina Balance of State | Above average opportunities | 1.76 | 
| 9 | Greenville, NC Metro Area | Above average opportunities | 1.68 | 
| 10 | Greensboro-High Point, NC Metro Area | Above average opportunities | 1.37 | 
| 11 | Eastern North Carolina Balance of State | Average opportunities | 1.28 | 
| 12 | North Carolina | Average opportunities | 1.23 | 
| 13 | Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC Metro Area | Average opportunities | 1.21 | 
| 14 | Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC Metro Area | Average opportunities | 1.2 | 
| 15 | Burlington, NC Metro Area | Average opportunities | 1.12 | 
| 16 | Wilmington, NC Metro Area | Average opportunities | 1.08 | 
| 17 | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area | Average opportunities | 0.88 | 
| 18 | Raleigh-Cary, NC Metro Area | Average opportunities | 0.84 | 
| 19 | Durham-Chapel Hill, NC Metro Area | Average opportunities | 0.81 | 
| 20 | Winston-Salem, NC Metro Area | Below average opportunities | 0.68 |